Underground Fighter
by chatmonchy
Summary: Hilda is typical high school student with nothing important going on in her life until she founds out first hand what underground fighting is all about. The motto is: 'The only way to survive is to win and to win you have to fight.'
1. Proton

The ear shattering screech of a black digital alarm clock went off just as a flock of noisy pidgeys flew over Nuvema town. Hilda slammed her hand down on the snooze button and abruptly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. _I hate Mondays… _Hilda threw the thick covers off her body and hesitantly got out of bed, heading to the bathroom down the hall. As much as Hilda hated waking up early on Monday mornings, she actually enjoyed going to school in Striaton city. Not because she found the classwork to be child's play, it's because her childhood friends happen to attend the same high school as her. They made every day at Kaze High interesting.

Hilda stood in front of the bathroom mirror, buttoning up her white uniform shirt. She pulled a light brown v-vest sweater over her shirt and smoothed her hands down her pleated navy blue skirt. _Why does the best schools have to be so far away? It's a pain riding my bike down those long routes. _Hilda adjusted her ribbon real quick before grabbing her black leather book bag and dashing downstairs. _School starts at 8:00 and it's already 6:30, so I need to hurry up. I'll eat a light breakfast_. Hilda caught a slice of toasted bread with her mouth, stuffed a big black bento in her book bag, and grabbed a bottle of room temperature green tea.

"See you mom!" Hilda shouted, but her voice was muffled.

"Goodbye darling!" Her mother said.

Hilda devoured the toast and dusted the crumbs off her mouth then she unchained her bike from the side of her house. Hilda placed her book bag in the metal basket and pedaled off towards Striaton city. It took her fifteen minutes to get to the city, though it would have been ten minutes if she hadn't stopped to pick Bianca up from the pokémart. Hilda chained up her bike at the bike racks and entered the rather large building with her busty best friend. The airhead pulled a red brush out of her square leather school bag and ran it through her short blonde hair, for once she wasn't wearing her green beret. Actually she had straightened her hair, probably going for a new look to impress Cheren.

"Did you study for the unit test on evolution?" Hilda asked.

"I tried to, but I kept procrastinating! Studying is hard!" Bianca confessed. "I called Cheren on my X-transceiver and he totally helped me out. I did a fifteen minute cram sensation at 5:30 in the morning at the kitchen table. Evolution is so elementary!"

"I swear you're the only person I know that can cram a bunch of info in their head and pass the test with a C or higher." Hilda muttered.

Hilda and Bianca entered their homeroom classroom, where Hilda took a seat at the window and placed her book bag on the desk. While Bianca texted Cheren on her dust pink flip-phone, Hilda watched the door to see if their homeroom teacher would walk in. _He's always late…why does he even bother waking up early in the morning if he's just going to be late to class._ Hilda chugged down half of her green tea and watched a blue-haired girl walk through the door. She instantly recognized the innocent looking teen as Dawn, a teenage mother from the TwinLeaf town. Not too long ago Dawn had gotten knocked up by Kenny, her ex-boyfriend, and rumor has it that she let Ash Ketchum go to town on her. At first only a couple of people knew about it, but an angry ex-girlfriend decided to tell everyone about Dawn's dilemma. Hilda nudged Bianca; the blonde looked up from her phone and giggled, seeing Dawn.

"Her mom should just home school her." Hilda muttered.

"I wouldn't be able to show my face around school if I were in her situation." Bianca chimed in. "Thankfully I'm not."

"Don't jinx it Bianca." Hilda warned. "You might end up as teenage mom with low self-esteem."

"Oh come on, we all know Cheren is too uptight to try anything on me." Bianca said casually. "Besides, I have a little more respect for myself. My body is a temple and no one has access to it."

Hilda shook her head and glanced at Dawn with a sympathetic look. _I feel bad for her…she won't be able to hang out with her friends after school or go anywhere in general because she'll be too busy raising that baby. If I were in her shoes I would have made my dead beat baby daddy take care of his child and if he refuses to do so, then I better see a child support check in my mailbox every month._ Hilda put her bottle of green tea away and watched another student walk through the door. It was a brown haired and brown eyed boy of average height and he wore a black gakuran. _Typical Hilbert…god he looks like a dork without his hat on…_

"Good morning Hilda." Hilbert greeted. He gazed at Bianca's chest. "Good morning…boobies."

Hilda pulled her science textbook out of her book bag and smacked Hilbert with it. The brown eyed boy was sent flying across the room and crash landed in between some desks.

"Pervert…" Hilda muttered.

"He's so lucky Cheren isn't the violent type." Bianca muttered, not looking up from her phone.

It was no secret that Hilbert has a crush on both Hilda and Bianca, but Bianca is already in a committed relationship with Cheren and Hilda has eyes for someone else. Though every once in a while Hilda had to knock some sense into him for acting like a perv around Bianca when Cheren isn't around. The only way to properly knock some sense into him was to use a thick book or if there weren't any books around, then Hilda would have to use her fist which is much deadlier than a book. Hilda slid the science book back into her leather bag and sat back, smiling in satisfaction.

"Good morning class! Sorry I'm late!" Mr. Kiyomizu apologized quickly.

Bianca pouted sending Cheren a quick goodbye text before putting her phone away in her bag. Mr. Kiyomizu went over the announcements and discussed the advertisement of school clubs and student council which will be held in the auditorium tomorrow at lunch. _Looks like I'll be representing wrestling tomorrow, we could use some new female members. _Hilda placed her hands against the back of her head and listened to the rest of the boring announcements. Then the door opened a shady character walked in. He wore a gakuran like the other male students, but something about him was off.

"Class, this is Proton. He's a new student so please be nice." Mr. Kiyomizu added.

_Proton? That's an unusual name, but I've heard stranger. _Hilda watched the green haired young man walked down the aisle and plopped down at the desk behind her. _Of all the seats in this classroom why did the one behind me have to be empty?_ Hilda removed her hands from the back of her head and sat up straight so that she wasn't touching Proton. The green-haired adolescent leaned forward, tugging at her ponytail.

"Hmm, you're a pretty little thing. How well can you use those fists?" Proton whispered in her ear.

"That depends…do you want to die or get some sense knocked into you?" Hilda whispered back.

"Ohh~! Feisty! I like that." Proton whispered with a smirk. "After school, meet me in the dream yard. I have a proposal for you."

"What kind of proposal?" Hilda whispered.

"Find out." Proton mouthed with a grin.

Hilda moved his hand away from her ponytail and pulled out a notebook. _Something about this guy is off and meeting him at the dream yard seems like a bad idea, but judging by the way he's eyeing Bianca I think he's the type of guy that can make things happen…bad things_. Hilda bit down on her black ink pen and nervously chewed on it. _What if he threatens to harm my mother or my friends? I have no choice, but to meet this weirdo at dream yard and see what he wants from me._

Third period came to end and the lunch bell went off. The teacher exited the classroom, leaving the students alone to eat their food and socialize. Hilda put her pen down and stretched her upper body. _Finally it's lunch time! I sat through three boring lectures and I had to take notes, even though I know everything about pokémon evolution, legendary pokémon, and the history of Reshiram and Zekrom_. Hilda pulled out her black bento and a pair of chopsticks.

"You know, that new kid Proton has been mad dogging me since he got here." Bianca said.

"Just ignore him. I'll handle it." Hilda muttered. "Anyway check out the teenage mom, she's eating lunch with her ex best friend's ex-boyfriend. Talk about sleazy."

"Yeah, I would never date any of your ex-boyfriends." Bianca said. "I already have the best boyfriend in the world!"

"Who would date Ash Ketchum anyway? He's not even that cute." Hilda said, stuffing some tamagoyaki in her mouth.

"I guess it has something to do with his personality." Bianca said with a shrug.

"Did you hear? The teenage mom is trying to run for student council." Hilda said. "Like they would ever make a teenage mother represent the student council."

Hilda shuddered feeling Proton's cold hands against her skin. She didn't move or say anything, Bianca didn't seem to notice which is good. Proton leaned forward again.

"Bad mouthing another student? That's a little cruel, don't you think?" Proton whispered.

"I'm just stating facts." Hilda conceded. "Anyway, what do you want from me? I already agreed to meet you at the dream yard after school."

"I just wanted to get your opinion on ladies fitness wear. Hmm you look like a medium." Proton observed.

"Um it's alright I guess and yeah, I'm a medium." Hilda murmured.

Proton nodded and sat back to finish the rest of his food. Hilda kept her mouth shut and her head down for the rest of the day. When the dismissal bell went off, Hilda stiffly collected her things and went to the bike racks with Bianca.

"Cheren is walking me home so I'll see you later." Bianca said. "Bye Hilda!"

"Bye Bianca…" Hilda sighed.

Hilda stood there and watched Bianca walk off with a bespectacled teen. _Aww great, I'm on my own_. Hilda unchained her bike from the steel bike rack, placed her book bag in the basket, and road off to the dream yard which wasn't too far away from the school. She walked her bike over to a broken cement wall and leaned it against it then turned to face Proton who appeared out of nowhere. Accompanying the green-haired adolescent is a petite brunette and a creepy looking purple-haired man, who's clearly older then all three of them.

"Hello Hilda, I'm so grateful that you came here like I requested." Proton said. "This is the girl I told you about Petrel."

"She's got a pretty face and a good body that's for sure, but are you sure she can fight?" The purple-haired man smirked.

"Oh yes she can fight. I'm confident that she can send a bouffalant running home to its mommy with one punch." Proton replied.

Hilda clutched her sweater and stared at them in confusion. _What's going on? Why is Proton so confident about my fighting skills?_ Hilda backed up a little.

"Oh, how rude of me! Hilda this is my good friend Petrel and that's Aurora." Proton said. "Aurora, how about you give Hilda a taste of your combat skills?"

The brunette nodded and charged at Hilda with her left hand balled up into a fist. Hilda dodged Aurora's fist and jumped back, creating some distance between them. _What the heck is going on?!_ The brunette struck Hilda in the face with her heel and sent the schoolgirl crashing into the cement wall with another swift kick. Hilda panted heavily as she wiped some blood off the corner of her mouth, staring up at Aurora.

"Come on Hilda, fight her!" Proton cheered. "I'll let you leave once you beat her."

_Looks like I have no choice, but to beat her up._ Hilda rose to her feet and spit some blood onto the grass. _This would be so much easier and less painless if I could just use my pokémon_. Hilda grabbed Aurora's fist; jerking the brunette forward and punching. The brunette stumbled back and shook her head, trying to recover from the blow. Hilda then dropped to the ground and swung her leg, knocking Aurora off balance. As the brunette came crashing down Hilda brought her elbow down on the back of Aurora's neck. _I know a move like that is dangerous, but I went easy on her. She won't die or anything, she'll just be unconscious for a bit._ Hilda backed up some more and looked up Petrel and Proton. Both men looked satisfied.

"That was an excellent battle! It was like watching two wild pokémon fight each other!" Proton exclaimed happily. "Didn't I tell you she could fight?"

"You proved me wrong Proton." Petrel admitted. "But Aurora was an amateur fighter, she didn't stand a chance against Hilda. Anyway I think this would be the perfect to explain to Hilda why we did all of this."

"Yes, of course." Proton nodded.

Hilda turned to leave, but Petrel grabbed her wrist and brought her close to his body. He held her hands behind her back and made Hilda face Proton.

"Don't be alarmed Hilda. We don't plan on hurting you or anything, but I'd like to discuss that proposal with you." Proton said, stepping forward. "You see I recruit strong female fighters for my dear friend Petrel and we take these females to an abandoned unground train station in Virbank city where we hold fights. Petrel bets money on his fighters and puts them up against other female fighters, if he wins then gets double of what he bet and if he loses…well you don't want to know what happens to those poor women. You, on the other hand, is a promising fighter and I know you'll make a valuable addition to Petrel's collection. He's been running low on fighters."

"You mean…I'm going to fight other teen girls like a pokémon just so you guys can make some easy money?! That's sick!" Hilda growled.

"Sick? You force your pokémon to battle other pokémon and you think what we're doing is sick?" Proton pointed out.

"That's different! They want to fight so that they can become stronger! What you're doing is inhumane." Hilda spat.

"Hmm, I don't care for you opinion and that tone of yours better change. You'll be doing this whether you like it or not, if you refuse then I'll gladly show the authorities this video of you beating up Aurora." Proton threatened.

Petrel released Hilda and walked over to Proton.

"We'll also hurt your family and friends, even your pokémon. So don't try anything." Proton added. "Have a nice day Hilda."

Petrel picked up Aurora and walked off with Proton. Hilda dropped to her knees and stared down at her hands with wide eyes. _What did I just get myself into…?_


	2. The match

Hilda closed her history book and placed her notes in a light blue three-ringed binder. _Yesterday was intense…that girl Aurora is one tough cookie! Proton and Petrel must have brain washed Aurora and now fighting is the only thing she knows. I can't let them brain wash me, I have to find a way out of this…but Proton threatened to harm my friends, my pokémon, and my mom! If they get hurt it'll be my fault! I have to protect them at all costs._ Hilda stabbed a thick slice of yellow pepper and held it up to her mouth. Yellow peppers were her favorite, but she could barely eat after what she did to Aurora yesterday.

"Are you okay, Hilda?" Mom asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Hilda muttered.

"Well someone is here to see you." Her mother said excitedly.

Hilda frowned. _I'm not expecting anyone. Maybe Bianca or Hilbert decided to drop by_. _They probably need help with their math homework again or perhaps biology. _Her mother clasped her hands together and stepped aside. Hilda's eyes widen when Proton entered the kitchen. The green-haired adolescent handed her mother a bouquet of roses and asked for a plate of food then he took a seat at the dining table next to Hilda. He placed a red heart shaped box of chocolates on top of Hilda's binder.

"Your mother is a lovely woman. Gullible too! I told her we're dating so just go a long with it or I'll have Petrel defile that mature body. He does have a fetish for older women." Proton whispered in her ear.

Hilda shuddered in disgust and nodded. Her mother walked back into the dining room and placed a plate of Mediterranean chicken with roasted vegetables in front of Proton, she also handed him a fork.

"Thank you so much. It looks delicious." Proton said.

"You're welcome." Her mother smiled. "So Proton, how long have you been dating Hilda? And how come you didn't tell me?"

"We've been dating for a month now, but I lived in Virbank city so it was a long distance relationship. I rarely got to see her in person, but now that I live closer to Striaton city we can finally be together." Proton added. "Oh? I thought you knew about us already."

"I didn't tell you, because you always act like a second mother towards my boyfriends. It's weird." Hilda lied.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hilda darling." Her mom murmured sadly.

"Hilda didn't mean it. She's just mad at me, but I'll make it up to her." Proton said.

"Okay. I'll leave you two love birds alone." Mom said.

Hilda watched her mother exit the kitchen. _I wish she had stayed and bugged him with questions! I hate being alone with this weirdo!_ Hilda nervously picked up her fork again and began to shovel some chicken and vegetables in her mouth. _Maybe if I eat fast enough then I can go to my room and my mom doesn't let my boyfriend's come into my bedroom_. Hilda noticed Proton watching her eat with a creepy expression.

"May I help you with something?" Hilda asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't rat me out. Anyway never forget that I'm posing as your boyfriend, I don't want your mother or friends to become suspicious of me, but don't get a big head about it. I have eyes for a different brunette and her name rhymes with Myra." Proton replied. "What I really came here to tell you is that there's a match this Sunday and you're going to participate in it. Bring us to the finals or your mother will get into a little accident."

Hilda gasped quietly and bit down on her lip. _If I don't do what he says then he'll hurt my mother…I can't let her get hurt because of me._ Hilda glared at Proton, but her death glares were meaningless to the green-haired young-man. Proton simply smirked and began to eat some of the chicken on his plate. _I have planted fear in her mind…this will make her paranoid, because the moment she screws up she'll know that her sweet old mother will pay the consequences._ Proton finally called out his weezing and fed the noxious pokémon what was left on his plate.

"You have a lovely house and it was a pleasure to meet your mother, but I'm afraid I must get going. You see the double battle tournament is coming soon and it's important that I find you a partner that's equal or great than you. Of course finding a girl like that is pretty rare nowadays. Au revoir, mademoiselle." Proton smiled.

Hilda dropped her fork and stared blankly at her clean plate. _I don't see a way out of this…of all people why is this happening to me?! What did I do to deserve this? I don't want to harm innocent girls just so Petrel can earn money, that's not right. It's nothing like pokémon battles…those battles are much different…_

•••

Bianca took a picture of her stylish nails and posted the picture on her blog. _Sometimes I wish I could be like a Bianca. She's naive, innocent, and has a genius boyfriend_. Hilda stared at Bianca's nails; the blonde has perfect natural French tips and she managed to do a cute female Pikachu on both thumbnails then did Pikachu's fur pattern on the rest of her nails. _Another thing I like about Bianca is that she's a girly girl and she does cute things. Guys find me scary, only N had the courage to approach me and tease me…I wonder where he is right now?_ Hilda glanced at the maid café ahead of them.

"I have a couple of yens on me. Do you want to eat at the café today?" Hilda suggested.

"That would be nice! It's been forever since we last ate there!" Bianca exclaimed happily.

Hilda smiled warmly and watched the blonde snap a picture of the popular café. _Sometimes I wish I grew up like Bianca…although we both have no siblings, Bianca was treated like a princess and she got everything her heart desired. I suppose that's why her father is always so protective of her…but every princess needs a prince to save her, I use to be her prince… _The two high school students entered the café and were immediately greeted by a perky maid. _I have to be her prince again and protect her from Proton. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to her._ Hilda took a seat across from Bianca at a table. The brunette looked past Bianca and her eyes widen; Proton was conversing with one of the maids outside of the café. _No…! Get away from him! _Hilda couldn't find the strength to move. All she could do was sit there and watched the beautiful young-lady get man handled by Proton. _Why is he doing this to her?! Why is he doing this to me?!_ Hilda gripped her pleated skirt and quivered.

"Are you okay, Prince-san?" Bianca asked.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a bit famished." Hilda lied.

_I feel guilty about lying to Bianca, but I don't want her to worry about me. Worry will turn into suspicion and she'll definitely start investigating. Bianca might not be the brightest girl, but she makes an excellent detective. _Hilda released the grip on her skirt and looked past Bianca once more only to see that there was no sign of Proton or the café maid. _He did it again…he recruited another fighter by using brute force…he probably threatened to harm someone close to her. _Hilda sighed hopelessly, but smiled when a maid placed a plate of tandoori chicken puffs in front of her.

"How have things been between you and Cheren?" Hilda asked curiously.

"Everything has been great so far, but our relationship has been a little rocky." Bianca answered.

"Why?" Hilda asked.

"My dad has been interfering in our personal time a lot and it's starting to upset Cheren. I'm trying not to make a big deal out of it so I'm avoiding the subject and distracting him with stuff like homework, I also avoid taking him to my house." Bianca answered. "What about you and N? I know he hasn't been around much, but he's contacted you a couple of times right?"

"…To be honest I have no idea where N is and he hasn't contacted me recently. I'm starting to get worried, but I know that he'll be alright because he has Reshiram by his side and I know Reshiram will protect N for me." Hilda murmured. "I really don't want to talk about it…"

Bianca nodded sadly and rubbed Hilda's hand. _If Bianca knew what I was going through I know she would support me and help me find out of it because that's the type of person she is. But she wouldn't be much help in a situation like this…if N were here, he would have taken matters into his own hands._ Hilda picked up the chicken puff and bit into its juicy white meat. _He'll come back soon…I can feel it…_

•••

"Are you sure she's ready to fight? She's only been training for two days!" Petrel said worriedly.

"She doesn't need much training, because the opponent she's going up against isn't much of a challenge. And besides…she's already strong…if you aren't satisfied with her current strength then why not call Black Rose and have her help us out?" Proton replied.

"I'll call Black Rose during the match, she defiantly won't be happy to hear from me…oh did you find another fighter for the double battle tournament? I heard most of the rounds will be tag battles, so it'll be one on one but we can switch them out whenever we want." Petrel said.

"I'm working on it…my lady friend (referring to Lyra) has been spying on a teenage girl who lives in Aspertia town." Proton said. "Lyra has also been spying on our rival and she has given me some rather valuable information about him…he's recruited a very strong fighter, but isn't planning on using her until the championship. If that new fighter is truly strong then we are in trouble."

"You need to find another fighter right away and I'll see to it that Black Rose gets here tonight." Petrel said.

Proton nodded; the limo came to a stop and the door opened up. _Looks like we're here…this should be an interesting match…I hope none of the fighters are stronger than Hilda, that means we'll have to train her more and I'll have to come up with believable excuses for her mother…_ Proton grabbed Hilda's wrist and stepped out of the limo. The two men led Hilda down the steps and deep into the abandoned subway station. Proton helped led the way by having his Zebstrika use flash to light up the darkness. Once they came upon a crowded area, Proton returned the zebra like pokémon to its pokéball.

"Isn't it simply marvelous hear?!" Proton shouted over the thunderous music.

"I'll show her around, just sign in." Petrel muttered.

Petrel grabbed Hilda's wrist and dragged her over to the left side of the abandoned station. There were more than a dozen yatai (Japanese food stalls) lined up against the wall and there were even a couple of game booths, but instead of getting plushies the prizes were unpleasant accessories for the fighters. _How can all these men just gather around here and socialize? Don't they know what they're doing is wrong!?_ Petrel released Hilda's wrist and pulled a ￥5000 yen out of his wallet. _How can he eat at a time like this!? He's just going to sit there and eat that freaking hot dog while I get my face pounded in?! Unbelievable…_ Hilda gritted her teeth and glared at him.

"Glaring at me won't you anywhere." Petrel pointed out. "Anyway this half of the station is for eating purposes. So if you win a match I'll buy you something to eat on our way out of here. And the right side of the station is just for music, sign ups, and socializing. The center is the boxing ring and everyone gathers around it to watch the fighters go at it."

Petrel and Hilda raced over to the boxing ring; the blinding lights were dimmed and two fighters entered the ring. A tall and fit black haired girl stood in the left corner of the room, her face was solemn and her hands were already balled up into a fist. In the right corner a terrified blonde trembled uncontrollably. _That girl looks so scared…I hope she doesn't get seriously injured…_ The two fighters' coaches cheered them on from the sideline.

"Looks like a newbie is taking on the reigning champ, Sadako the Dark Goddess." The announcer laughed.

The bell had gone off. Sadako cracked her knuckles and launched forward: she grabbed the blonde's forearm and slammed her down onto the ground with enough force to make the entire station shake. Sadako leaned against the ropes and watched the blonde stand up. _You should have just stayed down…now I have no choice but to finish you off…_ Sadako sighed and launched forward once more, this time she slammed the blonde into the nearest post and beat her face in with her fists. _I don't want to hurt you, but I have no choice…this is my life now…_ The blonde sank to the ground—her face was a bloody mess and her nose was broken, but Sadako wasn't finished yet. She grabbed the crying blonde by the collar of her shirt and tossed her up into the air. Sadako quickly climbed up onto the top rope and jumped up; she twirled around and slammed her heels into the blonde's stomach. Once the blonde had landed on the ground Sadako placed her feet on top of the girl's chest.

"Do you wish to go home?" Sadako asked.

"Yes…" The blonde breathed.

Sadako removed her foot from the girl's chest and walked away to her side of the ring. The pumped up crowd chanted Sadako's name while the coach retrieved his injured fighter from the ring. _That Sadako is a tough and sturdy fighter…I don't want Hilda to get into the ring with her…she's not ready to fight someone like that_. Petrel narrowed his eyes at the callous female fighter before taking another bite out of his hotdog and pushing Hilda forward.

"It's your turn." Petrel said. "Win the match or suffer the consequences."

Hilda gulped nervously and hesitantly climbed into the ring. _I can't do this…I don't want to do this…!_ The terrified brunette sat down on a green stool Proton had provided for her. He slipped a clear mouth guard into her mouth and squirted some cold water into her mouth as well, but he quickly made her spit it out into a bucket. Hilda watched her opponent step into the ring. Her opponent was a tall and muscular pink-haired lass, she looked rather confident. _You can't be serious…I have to go up against her?! She has a freaking six pack!_ Proton began to massage her shoulders to release the tension and stress.

"Hey newbie."

Hilda turned her to see Sadako standing beside Proton._ Sadako!? Wh-Why is she wasting her time talking to a nobody like me?_

"I just wanted to wish you good luck. That other fighter might be a bit intimidating, but you should have no problem taking down that confident parasite." Sadako said. "After you win this match, let's grab a bite to eat."

Hilda gasped and nodded excitedly. _If I win then I get to eat with Sadako the Dark Goddess! Wait...why do I even care about her? She's just another fighter that's going to beat me up…but it wouldn't hurt to make friends here and as far as I'm concerned, she's the strongest fighter in this station. It'll be nice if she took me under her wing_. Hilda jumped up and Proton removed the stool from the ring. The bell rung and the match began.

"I won't lose to this pathetic pipsqueak!" The muscular girl exclaimed confidently.

_I won't lose to someone like her either…honestly doesn't she know how ridiculous she looks like?_ Hilda gritted her and watched the rival fighter charge at her. Pinkie, the muscular fighter, smashed her elbow into Hilda's side and struck her knees with two swift kicks. The attacks were too powerful for Hilda to shake off. _Damn…it felt like I got hit in the side by a semi-truck and a gold club smashed my knees.._. Hilda dropped to knees and placed a hand on her side.

"Her attacks are strong, but she has too much pride." Proton said. "Pride is a wonderful terrible thing."

"Pride can become a person's biggest downfall." Petrel chimed in.

Pinkie attempted to pin Hilda down to the mat by performing a body splash. The muscular fighter climbed up the side of the ring and jumped, attempting to crush Hilda with her body. _I've watched a lot of wrestling matches with Hilbert so I'm defiantly aware of this maneuver and I won't let such a pitiful move like that take me make down._ Hilda quickly rolled out of the way and used the nearest rope to stand up.

"Ganbatte, Hilda!" Proton cheered.

"You speak Japanese?" Petrel asked.

"A little." Proton admitted. "Don't you speak some too?"

"Naw, I'm only fluent in English and Italian." Petrel said. "Anyway Hilda is holding up well. I hope Pinkie isn't too much of a challenge, I can't afford to lose this match."

"Have a little faith in her…Hilda cares very deeply about her mother. I know she'll do whatever she can to protect her. " Proton said.

"I hope you're right…" Petrel muttered.

The brunette gritted her teeth feeling Pinkie's arms wrap around her body. _I hate bear hugs!_ Hilda closed her eyes and squeaked as Pinkie began to apply pressure to her chest and upper abdomen. After a while Hilda managed to bring her hands up to Pinkie's ears and smack them at the same time. Pinkie immediately released Hilda and stumbled back. _I have to take her down now…or they'll hurt my mom…_ Hilda balled her hands up into a fist and smashed her feet into Pinkie's jaw nearly breaking it. _It's now or never!_ Hilda positioned herself into a handstand and wrapped her legs around Pinkie's neck. Hilda used every muscle in her legs to flip Pinkie over and slam her down on the mat. The bell went off again and Hilda unwrapped her legs from Pinkie's neck.

"The winner of this match is…Hilda!" The announcer exclaimed.

Despite all odds, the brunette had emerged victorious. Proton leapt into the ring with Petrel and the two males hauled the exhausted fighter to the food court where Petrel bought her a tray of takoyaki, yakitori, and boba milk tea.

"You did an excellent job!" Petrel praised.

"Yes, it was truly magnificent! But I'm afraid we'll have to make intensify your training regimen." Proton said.

Hilda nodded quietly and began to stuff the delicious takoyaki in her mouth. _I'm glad I won't have to do this every day, but once summer break up comes up then Proton will probably ask my mom if I can spend most of the summer with him…he'll just put me in more matches…_ Hilda stared down at her tray of food.

"Congratulations on winning your first match, newbie." Sadako said. "I told you taking down that confident parasite would be a piece of cake. Anyway I'm from Mizerable…Mizerable has all of the strongest fighters, but elite fighters such as myself rarely get to participate in these contests. My mission is to recruit new fighters and you have the potential of becoming an elite fighter. If you ever get tired of these losers then come join Mizerable, but for now I'll be your mentor."

"I'd love to join you, but if I leave then they'll hurt everyone close to me." Hilda muttered.

_I didn't thinking those two were much of a threat, but Hilda is better off in my care. I'll find a way to get them to hand her over to Mizerable so for now…I am enemies with them._ Sadako nodded and placed a hand on Hilda's shoulder, hoping to comfort her. _I hope these men know who they're dealing with…_


	3. Lyra the spy & Sadako the Dark Goddess

Hilda held her chopsticks firmly and placed the last slice of deep-fried pork cutlet on top of the egg. _Sunday…I went into a ring with a woman who was ten times my size and she had huge muscles…for some reason I didn't want to lose to her, but in the end what I did was wrong._ Hilda drizzled a bit of mayonnaise on top of the deep-fried pork. _I didn't have much of a choice…it was either pound her to a pulp or have multiple broken bones._ The brunette plopped down at the dining room table with her bowl of katsudon and began to shovel a combination of Japanese short grain rice, egg, and katsu into her mouth while studying chapter 5.8 in her biology textbook. _And it seems Sadako, The Dark Goddess, is interested in me…it's obvious that she's just trying to recruit me for Mizerable. But I have no intentions on joining that company, because I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. Though, I wonder what kind of person she is…_ Hilda stuffed some more rice into her mouth and pulled out the white business card Sadako had handed her last night at the match.

••••••

Petrel burned a cigarette into the side of his silver ashtray and watched Proton open the warehouse door. _I hope it's not the police, I've grown accustomed to this warehouse and I would hate to leave it…_ Petrel tossed his empty cigarette carton onto the coffee table and smiled up at a petite brunette. _I've never been so glad to be wrong._ He watched the brunette pull out a black laptop and silver flash drive.

"Welcome back Lyra." Petrel greeted. "I'm assuming you brought some back juicy information."

"Of course." Lyra said, stopping to give Proton a kiss on the cheek.

Lyra quickly typed in her password, loaded the flash drive, and pulled up the correct file. Her laptops camera projected a large holographic screen which displayed Mizerable's company logo followed by a series of complex codes. _It's a shame that Team Rocket disbanded, because it's left us with nothing fun to do…but thanks to Underground Fighting we've been able to make easy money. If Lyra hadn't given up her dreams to pursue Proton then none of this would have been possible_. Petrel pulled a wine bottle out of Lyra's bag, slowly popped off the screw-top cap, and poured himself and Proton a glass of white wine.

"Mizerable is an underground organization and the home of elite fighters, the organization is run by a greedy man named Yamato Shigeo otherwise known as the father of Underground Fighting and his faithful assistant Jouda Hisoka. Yamato typically targets teenage runaways and trainers, in some cases he adopts orphans and when they become thirteen he begins to train them to become fighters. He gives purpose to forgotten children like Sadako the Dark Goddess and her elder step sister Carina the Destroyer." Lyra explained. "The company's HQ is unknown, but with a little more research I think I'll be able to find it."

Lyra pulled up a side by side profile of Yamato Shigeo and Jouda Hisoka; Yamato appears to be a plump middle aged man and Jouda is a scrawny bespectacled man in his early twenties. _So that's what the old man looks like…I wouldn't be surprised if he used Jouda to recruit runaway girls or trick female high school students into meeting him somewhere. Young men like him are eye candy for girls like Lyra._ Petrel gazed at the picture of Jouda before taking a long sip from his wine glass. Lyra pulled up a side by side profile of Sadako and a strawberry blonde lass.

"The one on the right is Sadako, a.k.a the Dark Goddess of Underground Fighting, and the one on the left is her older sister Carina the Destroyer." Lyra said.

"Sisters? They look nothing alike." Petrel said. "Clearly Sadako is Japanese and Carina is European."

"They aren't related, genius. They're step sisters. Anyway their parents were both single parents and after dating for two years they married in February and moved to Lumiose city. Carina's father left on a business trip to the Kanto region and Sadako's mother took them far out onto Mélancolie Path where she abandoned them. Apparently Bradley, Carina's father, wasn't all that satisfied with Airi and often they would get into heated arguments. After a while Airi couldn't take anymore so she abandoned Sadako and Carina before committing suicide." Lyra explained. "The profile doesn't mention how they managed to survive, but the next morning Jouda had discovered them. From that point on they've been working for Yamato."

"Hmm…her sisters pretty hot." Petrel muttered.

"Seriously?!" Lyra shouted. "Anyway they both pose as major threats to our fighters, but fortunately for us Elite Fighters aren't allowed to participate in the regular matches. Sadako specializes in both offense and defense while Carina just specializes in defense. But they're the least of our worries."

"What do you mean by that?" Petrel asked curiously.

"Yamato has two secret weapon." Lyra answered.

Lyra pulled up the profile of a petite brown-skinned fighter. Her long brown hair is styled in pigtails, her eyes are green, and she's wearing a pink bow accent shirt with denim shorts. _You've got to be kidding me…this girl is an Elite fighter?! I've actually seen her around the Kalos region before and she's nothing special. She's so cheerful and she's not very good at pokémon battles…I guess there's a side of her no one knows about._ Petrel nervously pulled out a new carton of cigarettes.

"Her name is Shauna…she's fifteen years old, her hometown is Vanville Town, and she's a huge fan of cute pokémon. More importantly she specializes in speed, special defense, and special attack." Lyra explained.

"Any info on her past?" Petrel asked.

"There's nothing interesting about her past but it says she's a lightweight Judo champion." Lyra replied.

_It seems Petrel was hoping to avoid fighters with speed and specialized offense and defense. But as long as Hilda is still a newbie then we won't have to worry about her getting into the ring with someone like Shauna._ Proton rested the side of his head in the palm of his hand and stared at the holographic screen with interest.

"So who's the other secret weapon?" Petrel asked.

"The other secret weapon is a seventeen year old girl named-" Lyra paused and let out any angry sigh. "-Blue…she's the jack of all trades. Blue exiles in all areas and like all Elite Fighters, she has a secret ability no one knows about."

"Blue? That's defiantly a shock." Proton smirked. "Isn't she your friend, Lyra?"

The angry brunette shot him a glare before safely ejecting the silver flashdrive and powering off her laptop. _A jack of all trades…is that even possible!? I guess I shouldn't underestimate that fat old geezer…we'll need to recruit more girls and figure out a training regimen that'll make them as strong as Sadako and the other Elite fighters._ Petrel filled his glass with more white wine and stood up.

"Good job Lyra. If you want you can take a break and spend some time with Proton." Petrel offered.

"No thank you." Lyra murmured, her cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "I'll continue my research and bring back more valuable information."

Lyra packed her up personal belongings and kissed Proton goodbye before exiting the warehouse. _Besides if I hang around there I won't get paid and…it's awkward being affection in front of Petrel…_ Lyra placed a hand on her bright red cheek. _I hope we'll get to be alone together soon…_

••••

Hilda closed her biology textbook and rested her upper body on the table. _I have to start thinking up a plan to break free from Proton and Petrel without putting my friends and family at risk. I could use my pokémon, but I've never seen Petrel or Proton's pokémon in a battle before so I have no idea how strong they are…ugh! This is going to be a lot more difficult than I had anticipated._ Hilda slammed her fist down onto the table in frustration. _I shouldn't take my anger out of the table…I'll go see what Bianca is up to. Mom is asleep so she won't notice my absences_. Hilda dumped her dishes into the sink, cleared the table, and threw on a jacket before leaving the house.

"Hilda."

The brunette stuffed her hands in her pockets and looked up to see who had called her name. _S-Sadako?! _The gloomy adolescent stood a few inches away from Hilda with a female Phantump by her side. _She looks so different… _Sadako looked paler under the sunshine and there were dark circles under her eyes. _I wonder if she has insomnia or maybe her boss trainers her until she collapses…no if that were the case she wouldn't have been able to defeat that blonde girl last night. She would have fallen asleep before the match began._ Hilda cautiously approached the gloomy adolescent. _More importantly…how does she know where I live?!_

"Sadako, what are you doing here?" Hilda asked curiously.

"I'm bored…you don't look busy so lets hang out." Sadako replied.

_Huh? What does she mean I don't look busy?! I'm busy person! I just happen to be free right now…_ Sadako handed Hilda a can of Boss Luxury Double Café Au Lait before walking away. _Boss Coffee?! This particular variation of Boss Coffee is hard to come by in the vending machines! Proton said to be wary of Sadako, but she's not so bad!_ Hilda happily cracked up open the lukewarm can of coffee and followed the gloomy adolescent up route 1.

"So, um, Sadako." Hilda murmured. "Why do people call you Dark Goddess?"

"It's a nickname I earned a long time ago during the preliminary rounds for newbie fighters…my attacks are similar to that of dark type pokémon and some say I shine like a goddess…it's a ridiculous nickname, but if makes everyone happy I'll go along with it." Sadako explained. "Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"O-Okay, ask me whatever you want." Hilda said nervously.

"Hilda, do you know what it means to be an Underground Fighter?" Sadako asked.

"No not really…but I don't enjoy being one." Hilda answered.

"…The only way to survive is to win and the only way is to fight…that is the motto we Underground Fighters live by. We're always aiming for the top and we won't let anyone or anything get in the way of that…that's what it means to be an Underground Fighter." Sadako explained. "…I know at some point we'll have to get into the ring with each other, but until then…let's just be friends."

A smile broke out on Hilda's face as she gazed up at Sadako. _I bet I sounded pretty cheesy… _Sadako rubbed the back of her neck and averted her eyes.

"Sure! I'd like that a lot!" Hilda beamed.


End file.
